Lionel
was a Captain (#108181) with the Royal Sussex Regiment who at the
age of 24 died in the Netherlands September 19, 1944 and who was
awarded the Victoria Cross. He is recorded at the Arnhem Oosterbeek
War Cemetery (5. D. 8). He was the son of Leslie Herbert and Sybil
Queripel of Tunbridge Wells. His name was added to the war memorial
February 24, 2005 at the request of his family and was the last
name added to the memorial. Captain Queripel from Warwick Park received
his VC for his part in manoeuvres in Arnhem, Holland in September
1944. Captain Queripel and his company were advancing along a main
road towards Arnhem clearing a path for the following battalions
of the Parachute Regiment. They were under continuous machine gun
fire which, at one point, became so heavy that the group split on
either side of the road and suffered considerable losses. Captain
Queripel at once proceeded to reorganise his force, crossing and
recrossing the road whilst doing so, under extremely heavy and accurate
fire. As he battled to regroup his men he stopped to carry a wounded
colleague to the safety of a first-aid post and whilst doing so
was himself wounded in the face. He brushed this aside and gathered
his remaining troops together to charge towards the enemy strong
point, which consisted of a captured British anti-tank gun and two
machine-guns. Despite the fire directed at him, he succeeded in
killing the enemy and recapturing the anti-tank gun. As a result
of this the following battalion was able to continue their advances
towards Arnhem. Later the same day he found himself again under
heavy fire with a small party of men. By this time he had received
bullet wounds in both arms and regardless of this and the heavy
mortar and machine gun fire directed at him, he continued to motivate
his men to defy the enemy with their dwindling resources of hand
grenades, pistols and rifles. After continued heavy combat he and
his men had no choice but to retreat. Queripel ordered his men to
withdraw and covered them with his pistol and a few remaining hand
grenades. This was the last anyone saw of him. Lionel had been born
July 13, 1920 in Winterborne, Monkton, Dorset, England, and had
come from a well established and highly decorated military dynasty.
His father, Colonel L. H. Queripel was a CMG and had been awarded
the DSO. Captain Queripel had been commissioned into the 2nd Battalion
Royal Sussex Regiment just before the start of WW2. When age 24
Queripel became a Captain in The Royal Sussex Regiment, attached
10th Parachute Battalion, during the war. There are many Regimental
memorials to Lionel Queripel, including; the Royal Sussex Book of
Remembrance in Chichester Cathedral, the Parachute Regiment Role
of Honour at Aldershot, Queripel House the site of 10 Para's HQ
at Duke of York's in London, the entrance porch to the village church
at Somerby, Leicestershire where 10 Para emplaned and of course
the Royal Sussex Museum and airborne museums at Aldershot and Oosterbeek.
Recently his school, Marlborough College, has unveiled a VC/GC memorial
on which his name is commemorated. In Tunbridge Wells his name,
image and information forms part of the Victoria Cross Grove monument
in Dunorlan Park which includes the names of 9 other recipients
of the VC.